SEOUL:  South Korea has scrapped the idea of a co-host bid with North Korea to stage the Women’s World Cup in 2023.

A report to that effect, from the Yonhap news agency, follows a statement only yesterday by world federation FIFA that the joint bid was one of nine for the finals to follow this year’s staging in France.

The South will now pursue a lone bid in competition with Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa.

The two Koreas expressed an interest in the joint bid last month but now the Korean Football Association has said that the two governing bodies had not had a chance to discuss a joint proposal.

A KFA spokesman said: “Though we submitted our registration alone, FIFA has offered to continue discussions with North Korea.”

The deadline to send bid books to FIFA is October 4 with a decision next March.

The two Koreas, which remain technically at war because the Korean War ended with an armistice, rather than a peace treaty, are also trying to co-host the 2032 Summer Olympics.